Guitar Power Chords Chart

Power
chords appear in several different forms (or "shapes") on the
fretboard. The
guitar power chords chart in this lesson will provide you with many of
these variations, but ultimately it's up to you to explore the
fretboard in your own way (based on your knowledge of chords and
scales). This is just for quick reference. Print this page out
if you like.

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As we learned in the introductory guitar
power chords lesson, the typical power chord consists of the root
(1)
and 5th (5). There are
several positions in which you can play this diad, some of which were
shown in the above lesson and covered more comprehensively below.

Movable
guitar power chords chart

The basic
power chord diad, consisting of the root and 5th can be
played in the following movable positions. Movable means the chords
maintain their form/fingering on the fretboard no matter which fret you
position them at.

E string
root

^
This fuller power chord shape requires you to mute the G string. I use
my 2nd finger as if I were playing a standard major barre chord, but
instead of fretting the G string I just rest over it. This mutes the
string.

A string
root

^
Simply barre your index finger across the low E and A strings. The low
E provides a lower 5th in the power chords shape. Adds a bit of depth
to A string root power chords.

TIP
You can also just use the 2 string barre and leave out the D and G
strings for more of a "lead" fingering.

D
string root

^
An extension of the basic root-5th shape. The A string provides a lower
5th, the B string provides the root octave (higher root).

Tip:
Leave out the G and B strings for more of a "lead" fingering.

G string
root

B string
root

Open
guitar power chords chart

As the name suggests, these power chord shapes make use of open
strings, giving you a fuller voicing. Great for those big sounding rock
and metal riffs.